1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to media file creation. More particularly, the present invention relates to verifying the correct encoding of media files.
2. Background Art
Modern media production workflows increasingly rely on digital formats, such as compressed video data on flash media, rather than analog formats of the past, such as tapes. Digital media provides several advantages over analog media, such as ease of distribution and increased reliability. However, the transition to digital media production workflows has introduced several new problems, particularly with respect to format encoding and transcoding.
For example, specific hardware devices or encoding steps used within a production workflow may require the video data to be in a specific format. Thus, the video data must be manipulated, for example by encoding or transcoding to the appropriate format. Each manipulation, however, increases the risk of introducing encoding errors in the video data. For example, due to differences between hardware, software, production environments, and other variables, encoder settings at particular manipulation steps may be improperly configured. Thus, while an encoded video file may include a valid file structure, the video content may contain encoding errors resulting in video or audio degradation. In addition, pinpointing an encoding step that introduced an error may be difficult in extended multi-step workflows.
Moreover, while some encoding errors may be quickly found using standard manual or automated quality control procedures, other encoding errors may not be immediately apparent or amenable to automatic detection. Some errors, such as detecting incorrect cadence, often require close manual examination and knowledge of the specific problem. Other errors, such as audio down-mixing, may be difficult to detect even with knowledge of the problem. Thus, encoding mistakes may go undetected until later stages of a production process, necessitating expensive and time consuming backtracking to restore proper video and audio quality.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a diagnostic tool that enables users to quickly and accurately confirm the correct video and audio encoding of media content.